What will Bennett era hold for USM?

Mar. 28, 2013

Rodney Bennett

Let us be among the first to welcome Rodney Bennett to his new post as president of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Bennett officially takes the reins Monday, after being tapped as Southern Miss’ 10th president by the College Board on Feb. 7.

But his work at Southern Miss started just days after his selection when an EF4 tornado ripped through the Hattiesburg area on Feb. 10, leaving parts of the Southern Miss campus in ruins.

Bennett, who traveled from his home in Georgia, was on campus the next morning to help assess damage. Two days later, he helped rally student volunteers who were ready to help in cleanup efforts.

“First impressions mean a lot, and Dr. Bennett had succeeded in making an incredibly strong first impression among faculty and students alike all across campus,” said David Davies, dean of the Southern Miss Honors, in a news release.

“Students responded positively to Dr. Bennett’s rallying them in the cleanup effort following the tornado, and faculty and staff who have met with him are very impressed.”

Bennett also endeared himself to students this past week when he arranged private funding to supply 1,000 student tickets for the Golden Eagles’ second-round National Invitation Tournament game against Louisiana Tech.

Not only did he arrange funding, he also greeted students as they entered Reed Green Coliseum, flashing his contagious smile as he high-fived them.

If these are the types of things Bennett does when he’s not even on the job yet, we can’t wait to see what he’ll do when he’s officially Southern Miss president.

Of course, there will be challenges ahead for the new president — addressing faculty salaries, dealing with funding that doesn’t go quite far enough, managing the university’s growth and more.

We feel confident that Southern Miss is in extremely good hands with Bennett. He has done more than prove his mettle in the past month.